JP-A-6-72966 describes a method for producing a symmetric chain carbonic acid diester such as dimethyl carbonate which comprises a step of catalytically reacting a nitrous acid ester with carbon monoxide in a gas phase.
JP-A-6-92910 describes a method for producing a symmetric chain carbonic acid diester such as dimethyl carbonate which comprises a step of catalytically reacting an nitrous acid ester with carbon monoxide in a presence of water and a solid catalyst comprising a platinum group metal ion placed on a zeolite support. It is described that the symmetric chain carbonic acid diester such as dimethyl carbonate can be produced in a high yield because the activity of the solid catalyst is kept at a high level for a long period.
As for a method for producing an asymmetric chain carbonate, JP-A-10-237026 describes a method comprising disproportionation reaction between two kinds of beforehand prepared symmetric chain carbonate in a liquid phase using a catalyst comprising titanium oxide as an active catalyst component, to produce the desired asymmetric chain carbonate.
The method described in JP-A-10-237026 is, however, not advantageous as an industrially applicable method, because the method requires the two producing steps for preparing two kinds of symmetric chain carbonates and subsequently subjecting these carbonates to the disproportionation reaction. Further, there is a problem that the yield of the asymmetric chain carbonate obtained from the equilibrium mixture produced by the disproportionation reaction is low (at most 43.5%, in terms of the yield based on the amount of the charged starting materials).